Towards Reconciliation: 10 Calls to Action to Natural Scientists Working in Canada
Carmen Wong1, Kate Ballegooyen2, Lawrence Ignace3, Mary Jane (Gùdia) Johnson4, Heidi Swanson5
1Kluane National Park and Reserve, Parks Canada, 205-300 Main St., Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1A 2B5, 2Kluane First Nation, PO Box 20, Burwash Landing, Yukon, Y0B 1V0, 3 Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation, 14 Boswell Crescent, Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1A 4T3, 4Kluane First Nation, PO Box 20, Burwash Landing, Yukon, Y0B 1V0, 5 Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W, Waterloo Ontario, N2L 3G1
Carmen.wong@canada.ca
In 2015, after documenting testimonies from Indigenous survivors of the residential school system in Canada, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released 94 Calls to Action to enable reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. Without personal connections to Indigenous communities, many Canadians fail to grasp the depth of intergenerational impacts of residential schools and associated systemic racism. Consequently, reconciliation remains an elusive concept. Here we outline 10 Calls to Action to natural scientists to enable reconciliation in their work. We focus on natural scientists because a common connection to the land should tie the social license of natural scientists more closely to Indigenous communities than currently exists. We also focus on natural sciences because of the underrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in this field. We draw on existing guidelines and our experiences in northern Canada. Our 10 Calls to Action are triggered by frustration. The authors have witnessed examples where natural scientists treat Indigenous communities with blatant disrespect or with ignorance of Indigenous rights. These 10 Calls to Action challenge the scientific community to recognize that reconciliation requires a new way of conducting natural science, one that includes and respects Indigenous communities, rights and knowledge leading to better scientific and community outcomes.
Mary Jane Johnson Gùdia – Mary Jane Johnson, Lhu’ààn Mân Ku Dań Elder
Gùdia - Mary Jane is a Lhu’ààn Mân Ku Dań Elder who worked for Parks Canada and Kluane First Nation over 40+ years on protected areas, environment, cultural, and Indigenous language issues. She is a champion for Indigenous language revitalization while partaking in a community that actively lives their culture. She contributes an objective perspective to several boards and committees and sits as an active committee member on: the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report Response Task Force addressing the TRC's Call to Action #70 reporting to the Standing Committee on Canada’s Archives; the Asi Keyi Natural Environment Park Management Plan Steering Committee; the Pickhandle Lakes Habitat Protection Area Steering Committee; the Canadian Mountain Network - Research Management Committee; the Canadian Mountain Assessment - Canadian Advisory Committee, and the Dan Keyi Renewable Resource Council. She is retired and is a happy and busy Grandmother of eleven Grandchildren and one Great Grandson.
Kate Ballegooyen
Kate Ballegooyen is Natural Resources Manager for Kluane First Nation. She studied geography and ecological restoration at UBC and recently completed a Master of Science in Environmental Management. While her main focus is environmental assessment work for KFN, Kate also works to facilitate research projects throughout the KFN Traditional Territory. More specifically, KFN has partnered with DFO, Yukon Governments Water Resources Branch and Environment and Climate Change Canada to research and assess potential ecological impacts of climate change and hydrological change to Kluane Lake. The goal of this project is to establish baseline information on groundwater discharge around Kluane Lake so that the impacts of climate change and lake level change can be better understood with respect to salmon spawning habitat.
Kate is currently working on a collaborative research partnership with Yukon University and University of Ottawa, called “Bringing Research Home.” This project is in the early stages of development and the key objective is to allow KFN to drive the research agenda and to create the necessary protocols, tools (ie. maps and databases), and processes (ie. youth and community engagement) for conducting research in the traditional territory of the KFN. The resulting protocols and/or research agreements may be used as models for other First Nations to adapt. This Project was conceived in response to a long history of ongoing dialogue to develop research protocols and priorities in KFN.
Carmen Wong
Carmen is the ecologist for Kluane National Park and Reserve in Yukon and has been working there for the last 13 years leading the monitoring program for Parks Canada. She holds a Ph.D. in forest ecology from the University of British Columbia and a Masters in Resource Management from Simon Fraser University. She has an extensive background researching forest dynamics with a particular interest in what happens in boreal and subalpine forests after bark beetles and fire. She is also currently looking at why kokanee salmon follow a boom/bust cycle. Before coming to Yukon, her education was 100% based in western science. Her world view shifted after working collaboratively with and learning from Gùdia and others from Yukon First Nations.